Rain gutter debris receiver



5mm 1967 E. .1. FERNEY RAIN GUTTER DEBRIS RECEIVER Filed July 22, 1964INVENTOR. EUGENE J. FER/YE) ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,325,038RAIN GUTTER DEBRIS RECEIVER Eugene J. Ferney, 2561 S. Myrtle St.,Seattle, Wash. 98108 Filed July 22, 1964, Ser. No. 384,448 7 Claims.(Cl. 128-7) The gutters at the eaves of houses collect such debris asleaves, seeds, and much dirt, in the course of a season, and unless thesame is cleared before rains commence, downpipes or screens are likelyto become clogged. Indeed, such debris continues to collect during therainy season, and the gutters need cleaning then at rather frequentintervals.

The debris is always black and dirty, and it and the leaves, seeds,etc., which it contains should not be thrown onto lawns, flower beds,porches etc., beneath the gutters, nor should the gutters be hosed out,for this splashes it onto painted surfaces, but the debris should becollected and properly disposed of, in such manner that it does not fallupon and deface painted surfaces or underlying areas. To do this thehouseholder must climb a ladder, carrying a receptacle such as a bucket,in one hand, and a clean-out tool, perhaps a large spoon, in the otherhand, and while balancing on the ladder must use his two hands to do thejob of cleaning and collecting. Not only is this precarious, for he hasno hands by which to hold onto the ladder, but the bucket is notconveniently held close to or beneath the gutter, but usually in thegeneral vicinity -of the gutters outer edge. A gap is left between thegutter and the bucket, and debris is bound to miss the bucket and tofall, or to be thrown upon the householder.

By the present invention it is my object to provide a receptacle thatnot only hangs from and extends in part to the height of the front edgeof the gutter, but extends beneath that edge far enough that no debriscan spill between the receptacle and the gutter, and any drip down thegutter is caught. Thereby the householders hands are free, one to usethe clean-out tool and the other to hold on, besides which there is noaccidental spilling.

Since careless use of the clean-out tool might cause some debris tospill over the front wall of the receptacle, it is a further object tolessen the chance for such spillage to occur, by locating the upper edgeof this front wall approximately at the level of the gutters front edge,where it does not obstruct the work, nor risk slopping over the frontwall.

It is also an object to provide stabilizing means upon the receptacle,for contact with some part of the gutter, as it hangs therefrom(especially if the receptacle is balanced to swing inwardly), wherebythe receptacle is unlikely to he accidentally tilted and to spillcollected debris, although it can be tilted outwardly purposely toremove the receptacle from the gutter.

These and other objects will appear more fully as this specificationproceeds. The invention is shown in an illustrative embodiment, butmodifications will be suggested hereinafter.

FIGURE 1 is an isometric view, showing the receptacle in position ofuse, hung from a gutter, the gutter and the building elements beingshown in section.

FIGURE 2 is a face view of the receptacle, broken back and shortened,and FIGURE 3 is an end view thereof.

The receptacle, generally designated by the numeral 1, is shown inFIGURE 1 hanging from a gutter G which lies beneath the edge of roofshingles S, to catch rain that runs down the sloping roof. The gutter Grepresents a common wooden trough, and would be drained by a downspoutor drainpipe, not shown. The invention can,

Patented June 13, 1967 of course, be used with thin metal propriatechange in details.

The receptacle is preferably an elongated tray-like structure, whollyopen at its top. It can be suspended from the front edge of the gutter Gby hook means, such as the hooks 10 rising above its ends 11. It ispreferred that there be two (or more) such hooks, for this assists instabilizing the receptacle and aligning it with the gutter, although asingle, centrally located hook would usually be adequate for support, ifnot for proper positioning. It is important that the hooks be locatedintermediate the front wall 12 of the receptacle and its back wall13-the terms front and back referring to the disposition of the walls asthe operator sees them. As shown, the hooks are located nearer the backwall 13. This location insures that the back wall 13 will lie wellinwardly of the front of the gutter, and the front wall 12 welloutwardly of the vertical plane occupied by the upper front edge of thegutter; see FIGURE 3. This disposition of the receptacle in use disposesthe receptacle more or less centrally beneath the aforesaid edge of thegutter although somewhat balanced to swing inwardly, especially bydebris collected in the front portion of the tray. Debris scooped fromthe gutter or running down the front wall thereof cannot possibly fallbetween the gutter and the receptacle, but must fall into thereceptacle.

Another provision against spilling or splashing or debris lies in theheight of the receptacles front wall 12. By raising its upper edgeapproximately to the level of the gutters front edge, as can be seen inFIGURE 3, any tendency to spill or splash debris outwardly is counteredby the extra height of the wall 12. This wall 12 can be apertured at 14for a hand hold, whereby the receptacle can be slide along the gutter asthe cleaning progresses.

As has been noted, the location of the hooks 10 assists in stabilizingthe receptacle, even if it hangs free. Preferably, it does not hangfree, but is balanced to tilt inwardly, as already noted. It is heldagainst accidental tilting, and in generally level disposition, bystabilizing means upon the receptacle that contact some part of thegutter. The particular point or line of contact with the gutter is nothighly important, but as shown, a contact element 15, such as anextension upwardly of the back wall 13, is positioned and of a size tocontact the bottom of the gutter. This prevents the receptacle 1 frombeing swung inwardly by its inherent balance, empty or filled, or bypressure against its front wall 12, from its level position of use. Thesame result could be obtained by making contact with the front wall ofthe gutter, although since gutter exterior shapes vary this would not bequite as satisfactory. If the gutter is of sheet metal, or otherwisedeparts materially from the form of a wooden gut-ter, the contactelements might be positioned accordingly, or be adjustably mounted uponthe receptacle. The objective is to keep the receptacle more or lesslevel in use, and to prevent its accidental tilting, or its tilting dueto on balance by debris collected in the front portion of thereceptacle. Nevertheless, when filled, it can easily be swung outwardlyto disengage its hooks 10.

It will be clear that in use the receptacle 1 is hooked over the frontedge of the gutter G, and hangs stably in a level disposition. Thehouseholder, on his ladder, can manipulate a clean-out tool with onehand, and hold onto the ladder with the other hand. As he raises debrisfrom the gutter, should he tend to spill it, the extra-height front wall12 prevents its spilling or splashing outside the receptacle, and it allruns into the receptacle. The extention of the receptacle inside thefront edge of the gutter insures that no debris will fall between thegutter and the receptacle. The elongated form and raised end walls ofthe receptacle minimizes the possibility of dropping or throwing debrisbeyond the ends of the receptacle. As

gutters, with ap- 3 the work progresses lengthwise of the gutter, thereceptacle can be pulled along, until filled, whereupon it is easilyunhooked and removed for disposal of its contents.

I claim as my invention:

1. In combination with a roof gutter supported at an eaves of the roof,a refuse receptacle suspended on the gutter for receiving refuse removedby an operator standing, for example, in a position facing the eaves,opposite the gutter, said receptacle having a bottom tray section whichis disposed below the gutter and characterized with front and backportions, as the operator sees it, the back portion of which is disposeddirectlly beneath the gutter and equipped with means for contacting theunder side of the gutter, and the front portion of which is disposed onthe opposite side of the vertical plane occupied by the upper front edgeof the gutter, with respect to the main body of the gutter itself, andopen at the top, so as to receive the refuse as it is removed over theaforesaid edge of the gutter, there being hook means on the receptaclewhich extend upwardly from the front portion of the tray section andloosely engage over the aforesaid edge of the gutter so as to cooperatewith the contact means in suspending the tray section in the aforesaidmanner below the gutter.

2. The combination according to claim 1 wherein the front wall of thereceptacle, as the operator sees it, is raised above the level of theback portion of the tray section, and laterally opposed to the gu ter,so as to form a splash plate for the protection of the operator.

3. The combination according to claim 2 wherein the end walls of thefront portion of the tray section, as the operator sees it, are alsoraised above the level of the back portion of the tray section,intermediate the front wall of the receptacle and the gutter, so as toform a splash enclosure for the protection of the operator.

4. The combination according to claim 2 wherein the upper edge portionof the front wall of the receptacle is apertured to form a handhold forthe operator.

5. The combination according to claim 2 wherein the hook means areformed on the end walls of the front portion of the tray section, as theoperator sees it.

6. The combination according to claim 1 wherein the back portion of thetray section is also open at the top.

7. The combination according to claim 1 wherein the hook means areslidably engaged over the upper front edge of the gutter so as to enablethe receptacle to be moved along the length of the gutter While itremains suspended therefrom.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 768,364 8/1904 Hines 220-18 X2,090,176 8/1937 Besancon 211-88 X 2,314,118 3/1943 Bisson 211-88 X2,892,561 6/1959 Frank 220-94 X THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner.

GEORGE E. LOWRANCE, Examiner.

1. IN COMBINATION WITH A ROOF GUTTER SUPPORTED AT AN EAVES OF THE ROOF,A REFUSE RECEPTACLE SUSPENDED ON THE GUTTER FOR RECEIVING REFUSE REMOVEDBY AN OPERATOR STANDING, FOR EXAMPLE, IN A POSITION FACING THE EAVES,OPPOSITE THE GUTTER, SAID RECEPTACLE HAVING A BOTTOM TRAY SECTION WHICHIS DISPOSED BELOW THE GUTTER AND CHARACTERIZED WITH FRONT AND BACKPORTIONS, AS THE OPERATOR SEES IT, THE BACK PORTION OF WHICH IS DISPOSEDDIRECTELY BENEATH THE GUTTER AND EQUIPPED WITH MEANS FOR CONTACTING THEUNDER SIDE OF THE GUTTER, AND THE FRONT PORTION OF WHICH IS DISPOSED ONTHE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE VERTICAL PLANE OCCUPIED BY THE UPPER FRONT EDGEOF THE GUTTER, WITH RESPECT TO THE MAIN BODY OF THE GUTTER ITSELF, ANDOPEN AT THE TOP, SO AS TO RECEIVE THE REFUSE AS IT IS REMOVED OVER THEAFORESIDE EDGE OF THE GUTTER, THERE BEING HOOK MEANS ON THE RECEPTACLEWHICH EXTEND UPWARDLY FROM THE FRONT PORTION OF THE TRAY SECTION ANDLOOSELY ENGAGE OVER THE AFORESAID EDGE OF THE GUTTER SO AS TO COOPERATEWITH THE CONTACT MEANS IN SUSPENDING THE TRAY SECTION IN THE AFORESAIDMANNER BELOW THE GUTTER.